Minelabs vs garrett ace 250

[dirtfishingdave]

Hello everyone,

Sunday myself, Dave and Curtis were at an old home site where we have permission to hunt. It was wet rainy day here in pittsburgh Pennsylvania, we were covering an area where we had not detected yet. Curtis he runs a garrett ace 250, dave runs a minelab explorer se, and I run minelab ctx3030. Dave and I agreed that curtis should start first with his ace 250 and hunt the grass area near the sidewalk where the old house once stood. Curtis has never found a silver coin yet. We figured he would dig a silver here. We would wait until he has it covered and go in with the minelabs and clean up what he missed or see the targets deep where he doesn't get a beep. After a couple of hours he says he has covered a section of lawn 25 feet by 15 feet. Curtis doesn't recover any coins in this area. Dave and I start covering with the minelabs. Immediately I dig a zinc penny, dave digs a 1949 Jefferson nickel. I get 12-34 signal at 7 inches deep, I am thinking Indian Head penny. Instead I dig a beautiful 1939 mercury dime and a dateless buffalo nickel in the same hole. I worked a little area no bigger than 5ft by 10 feet and dig a lead toy horse, a pair of war nickels, 2 wheat pennies, a cosmoplastic token from 1956 that was shot through with a rifle, and bunch of other stuff. I did dig more stuff that isn't in the picture, like a pair of keys and a bunch of iron trash.

So ,did the rain and wet grass affect how the garrett ace 250 preformed or was it something else? I am not sure, but I know we are going back to this spot to search for more lost gems. Good luck to all and happy hunting!

 

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[dirtfishingdave]

I have hit dimes at 12 inches with my minelab ctx3030, an 1898 barber dime and a 1917 mercury dime. I had my other hunting buddy eric who has a whites dfx, he didn't even hear a beep, I doubt that the ace 250 would sound a beep at this depth, I think the best it could detect is a quarter at 7-8 inches deep. IMO you get what you pay for. The garrett is a good beginner machine, but it would never see a dime at this depth!

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[Iron Patch]

Not really a surprise to me. The last few hunts I've been using an Ace 250 which is my back up and can tell you there's a substantial difference in the depth. In areas with heavy iron it will compete, and of course a person can always get over the right target if not real deep, but it would be crazy to think these detectors could go head to head in all situations.

 

[park pirate]

I run and Explorer SE and covered an area pretty heavily and found no silver. Took the new AT Pro there and hit a Merc on my second trip. THe SE had a standard coil and the Pro I put on a 5X8 which I think was the ticket. Tons of old square nails and small iron. I love both of these Machines and companies. I now use the Minelab for less trashy area with the bigger coil and the AT Pro for kickin' brush and trashy areas.

I pounded an area this season with my explorer se, and did get some stuff, I took my sovereign GT, to the same area, and BAM..every coin i found had a nail or a chunk of iron in the hole with it, i pulled over 40 old coins from this area, were the explorer just missed..some detectors are just better in the iron then others....

 

[ironhorse]

It's all a game of angles and whether you get over the target. I feel minelabs are better at depth and the coils cover more ground, but if either machine gets over a shallow no brainer both should get the target.

But then again it sometimes the users experience with the unit has to be a factor.

Some might also say its like bringing a knife to a gunfight in comparison

 

[Muddyhandz]

Yeah, but when all is set and done, the big minelab guy sits on top with a banner find made by an Ace 250 at a site the minelab had gone over before.
Just saying.
Cheers,
Dave.

 

[462]

If the $200 Ace 250 could compete head to head with the $1000 Explorer SE or the $2500 CTX 3030 what would be the point in spending the extra money?

 

[ironhorse]

Yeah, but when all is set and done, the big minelab guy sits on top with a banner find made by an Ace 250 at a site the minelab had gone over before.
Just saying.
Cheers,
Dave.

Oh I think the minelab guy made a banner find too, and the ace didn't get that one!
Just saying lol

 

[Iron Patch]

Yeah, but when all is set and done, the big minelab guy sits on top with a banner find made by an Ace 250 at a site the minelab had gone over before.
Just saying.
Cheers,
Dave.

Of course. I'd much rather have a 250 and a plow than any Minelab.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Back in the day, (about 30 years ago), I started with a Garrett Groundhog with a 10 inch coil. The meter never worked. (used)
I had to do everything by ear. My buddies who had all the bells and whistles of the day. Mostly White's as I recall. They used to HATE to take me along! Was I such poor company? No, I was an irritant to their expensive mindset.

What I mean is I learned my machine very, very well! I could hear the slightest change in pitch from very, very deep. Many times they accused me of planting my own finds so I challenged them. Next really deep and decent signal I'd have all of them check and let someone else do the digging. Now, don't get me wrong, these fellows were pretty darn good in their own right. They just didn't believe I could be hearing things that deep, better than their expensive equipments.

I pinpointed, they all tried their machines. No matter what, nothing. They dug where I said, it turned into an almost archeological type dig.

After they pulled the plug, they all could hear something. Some said it was good, some not. The closer we got, the better it became.
Turned out to be a wheat cent approx 13 inches deep. It was just a whisper to me, but, repeatable.

We tried that several more times and after a few more proofs. They were convinced. The smartest one there asked me to locate one for him and he stayed over that spot for an hour! Working his techniques, settings, hearing, etc. Until, he said, "I got it!" AND I can repeat it!

So, you see, at least in this case, it was an educational problem. Once he learned his own machine better and what to listen for, it worked.

Yeah, expensive, more powerful WILL definitely make a difference. But, no matter what one has, it's worth it to LEARN that machine very well.

Sorry for the hijack,dirtfishingdave, but it seemed a good place to try and explain.

Happy Hunting!

 

[WVCOINHUNTER]

Talk about comparing apples to oranges!! Try the Minelabs against the AT Pro! Or the ATX! I have hit places hard and went back several times and found things in the same areas that I had hit previously! I have also had days where my buddy with the ETRAC missed silver that I dug walking right behind him! And I'm sure it's happened the other way around! The Ace 250 could have been swinging one direction, and the Minelabs came in at the other direction! Not a good comparison, and a good way to discourage a fellow detectorist,especially if the more expensive machines are out of his reach!

 

[park pirate]

It's all a game of angles and whether you get over the target. I feel minelabs are better at depth and the coils cover more ground, but if either machine gets over a shallow no brainer both should get the target.

But then again it sometimes the users experience with the unit has to be a factor.

Some might also say its like bringing a knife to a gunfight in comparison

dont matter what machine you got, if you no it well, you will always find good stuff..

 

[ironhorse]

dont matter what machine you got, if you no it well, you will always find good stuff..

I'm not arguing with that statement
You do have to know your machine, that's why I did mention user experience
always finding good stuff though, does depend on the site and whether you put the coil over it and dig

 

[park pirate]

I'm not arguing with that statement
You do have to know your machine, that's why I did mention user experience
always finding good stuff though, does depend on the site and whether you put the coil over it and dig

Sorry ironhorse, i no you did mention user experience, i happen to search vary large park in upstate NY and have been for 18 years ever time ya think its cleaned out, Bam antoter hot spot, just makes ya keep comeing back.....

 

[Muddyhandz]

Of course. I'd much rather have a 250 and a plow than any Minelab.

I'd take a Radio Shack special and a backhoe over my current arsenal.

Maybe not.....My first detector was a Micronta and it's still wrapped around a tree in my parent's backyard from 30 years ago.

 

[Col.Philo95thNY]

Interesting Thread... IMHO... It's the luck of the draw, especially when it comes to the angle a detectorist approaches a target. You can have an array of machines on any given field, woods, or the beach. Whomever scans slowly is going to hit the deep targets... a coin, jewelry, or relic. Now, here's an example; I just saw a post where a hunter dug a 100 franc gold coin with a Ace 250, and we know that with no doubt a Mine Lab, any of them, or any other detector that goes over that coin, the operator is going to detect it. Only three way to miss it... Swing too fast, too high, or you were just that inch away from the target.

So many factors come into play in this instance, but when we take a shoot out in a garden where all types of targets are buried, and each machine attempts to detect each target at different depths, then we are talking turkey. Because now we have a curve, and a target can be hit at all angles, and I'm telling you, a little rain and the right angle, and your going home with some digs, no matter what they are because then it's the luck of the draw of what was there in the first place.

Another example about angles...

I was hunting at my favorite park where I have dug thousands of silver coins even after the park was hit in the 60's-2000. In some instances we had as many as 6 to 7 hunters in the same spot for a few hours and everyone is digging all different types of targets. I go back a week later, detecting slowly up a small mound of dirt.... nothing, now when I approach the mound from the opposite side or back the other way, I got a real nice high pitch, and we know what that is, giving me a 3 30 in digital readout, and the cursor to the far upper right of the mine lab screen. I dig, out pops a Barber half in very nice condition. So, all types of things come into play, the condition, iron, trash, but most important the angle in which we approach a target, especially in trashy areas where the other guys did not hear the high pitch of a seated dime, but when I heard that little chirp, and attacked that target at different angles, manged to get the full signal by scanning at all angles in between the trash, so I walked away with it... HH. Just my to cents...

Philo

OH... That's how I dug my 1626 Duit Hammered Dutch Coin in very trashy area at the same park...

 

[PlayingInTheDirt]

If the $200 Ace 250 could compete head to head with the $1000 Explorer SE or the $2500 CTX 3030 what would be the point in spending the extra money?

Agree I have them both & I am here to tell ya that when it come's to finding silver my minelab will leave my 250 in the dust but i love my little 250 at school yards for clad & such both have there up's & down's but ill take the minelab any day just my experience from using them both

 

[goldkey]

Put a larger coil on the ace250 and someone that knows the machine........My ace250 loves gold and silver..........Keeps us both happy!!!
If you prefer the minelab....then everbody's happy.....!

 

[Col.Philo95thNY]

I agree that that an Ace 250/350 can not ever compare to any of the Mine lab Detectors, because of the fact of the processes the ML has its auto ground balancing and iron rejection, but remember... I was bringing up the point of angles of attack when detecting. Mine lab with all the bells and whistles or any other high end detector will omit certain targets because the target may be on edge, which are the most difficult to detect, or targets that are surrounded by multiple types of metals, so the snail pace is the ideal method of detecting trashy areas. But yes, Mine Lab Detectors are far superior to many detectors out there, especially the new CTX 3030.

The 3030's processor is the most advanced out here now. This processor and its separation properties and depth are second to none. I know because I've been competing with the CTX 3030 for the last 6 months, and it is an awesome detector, but.... believe it or not, I prefer my E-Trac over the CTX, because of the clarity of the signal targets come through the head phones. I find the volume of deep targets on the CTX is a bit too low for me, and if there's a way to amplify these target's signals, then I'm ready for one, because like I said, I've been out there with the CTX and these hunters are pulling seated, Indians, 2 cent and 3 cent pieces, not to mention seated 1/2 dimes, including some nice gold jewelry at 7 to 12 inches and more.

These are the coins that are lying 4 to 5 inches under the 5 to 8 inches of all the fill dirt the parks have been filling in the parks. Don't get me wrong, older coins have been dug at 1, 2 inches because of erosion and soil run off. Example: we hit an area where there was a hilly area with a few very old trees, at least 150 years old or more... and in this case even a Ace 250 would have detected the 1/2 seated dimes and dimes that were dug, why, because of the erosion from storms like Sandy. You can see at least 5 to 6 inches of soil that eroded, leaving the roots in plain sight.

But, as always... the CTX 3030 is not for everybody, as the learning curve is not long, but the detector has so many settings, including GPS, an array of programs as does the E-Trac, but out in the field, it is awesome. The Ace 250 is not great with depth unless you hunt without discrimination, as is the same with my Bounty Hunter Land Star, a killer with silver coins. Respecting everyone's views here, and do not be afraid to throw your two cents in on this post, as i learn a lot from others also...HH.

Philo

PS In the last two years, silver in the parks are starting to dwindle. What is left are the deepies and those in the trashy area. Silver is not being replenished. Once they are dug, they are gone. MLabs can not be wrong with over 5,000 silver coins I've dug in the 12 years...

 

[Vonclemen29]

Nice finds man. I like my minelab. They're good machines, maybe it was just y'alls day. Like msbeepbeep said, maybe it had a cold. Lol

 

[jrmazzeo]

An interesting question for everyone to consider: if you have two different models of the exact same detector, running with the exact same settings, will they perform equally?

On a recent hunt with a buddy who has the same detector model as me (Minelab Safari), I asked him if I could swing his detector over some "iffy" signals I had found. Settings were the same, and we both had ground adjusted in the same spot. On one occasion, what turned out to be a deep Merc target did not make a peep on his detector, but gave a high tone on my detector depending on the direction of the swing. On another occasion, what turned out to be a nail did not give a signal on his but did give a high tone on mine, again depending on the direction of the swing.

This is not a rigorous comparison by any means, but my point is do not rule out variability between different models of the same detector.